


Gondola Rides and Golden Flowers

by AlexBarton



Series: Adventures in Karamore: The Cardinal Locks [6]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Dungeons & Dragons - All Media Types, Karamore - Fandom
Genre: First Dates, First Kiss, Karamore, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:47:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27382171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexBarton/pseuds/AlexBarton
Summary: Dorian asks Cassidy out on a date, except not really, sort of? It all works out in the end.Karamore was created by the amazingly talented CaptainMorgan.Based on our D&D escapades.
Relationships: Dorian Pappas/Cassidy Conley
Series: Adventures in Karamore: The Cardinal Locks [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1488608





	Gondola Rides and Golden Flowers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CaptainMorgan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainMorgan/gifts).



> The working title for this fic was "I'm Actually Too Gay To Function". 
> 
> Dorian finally asked Cassidy on a "date" the session before our shelter-in-place mandate went into effect for COVID-19, so it took over a month for us to actually get to this. I almost died when it actually happened, ask Morgan.

With the prospect of an entire evening to explore the elven city of Eldre’Thalas, Dorian asked Cassidy if he’d like to go for a ride on the gondolas before his courage ran out.

Much to his surprise, Cassidy agreed.

Now, in his room, Dorian stands in front of a mirror, panicking about what to wear. There’s a knock at the door, and he opens it to see Kis on the other side. She pushes past him and goes to sit on the bed.

“So. You and Cassidy are... going out... to explore.”

Dorian flushes. “I have no idea what to do at this point. I didn’t think I’d get this far. What do you even _do_ on a date?”

“Well, you didn’t actually ask him on a date,” she points out, smirking in amusement.

“Well it’s not! I mean. I’d like it to be. But we’re too different. I just want to get to know him.”

Kis watches Dorian fret over his clothes for a few minutes before deciding to have mercy on him and help him pick something to wear.

“You know,” she begins softly, “I’m not entirely opposed to you two being together.”

Dorian looks over at her. “Well Kis, I’m strangely touched.”

She sniffs in disdain, but all the same, she holds out a porcelain eyeball. “In case you need help on your _outing_.”

Dorian tucks the magical eyeball into his pocket and opens his mouth to thank her, but then there’s a knock at the door. He looks at Kis, panic returning. “What do I do?”

She raises an eyebrow. “Well usually, it helps if you open the door.”

He flushes, and there’s a second knock. Taking a deep breath, he steels himself and opens the door. Cassidy stands on the other side, and it takes all of Dorian’s willpower to focus on saying hello.

“You ready to go?”

Dorian nods.

Cassidy catches sight of Kis still perched on Dorian’s bed. “Oh hey Kis. Everything good?”

“Oh marvelous,” she says, grinning mischievously, “You two have fun on your _outing_.”

Cassidy shoots her a grin, “Thanks, I’ll have him home before late.”

Then he and Dorian make their way out of the palace.

As they walk, Dorian notices that a few elves nod respectfully to Cassidy, and the paladin nods back to them as well.

“So. You’re from Portcost, right?”

Dorian blinks. _Alright then_. “Yes, originally.”

“What brings you all the way to Myer from Portcost?”

He panics for a moment, but manages to get out, “Ah well, I wanted to study more magic and I had learned all I could in Portcost.”

_Not a complete lie._

“Yeah? Well, seems like you’ve learned a lot. You can do some pretty cool things.”

_Wait, what? Was Cassidy complimenting his magic?_

“Ah. Thank you. You’re from Myer, yes?”

“Just outside the city.”

“Like where the warlock was?”

Cassidy laughs wryly, “No the other side of the city actually.”

“Oh.”

They walk in silence for a few steps, Cassidy rubbing at the back of his neck. “Yeah I uh, I really should have picked up on something like that.”

_Oh no._

Dorian forces his voice to keep the casual tone he’s been talking in. “Something like what?”

The paladin shrugs. “You know. Evil magic and all that.”

 _Of course. Evil magic_.

Dorian swallows his nerves, trying to think of something to say. They arrive at the gondolas before he can come up with anything, and the conversation dies as they start their ride on the canals.

The sun is setting and tiny purple lights flicker on in the branches of plants. Floating flower lights pass them in the canals, and they can see other gondolas ahead.

Dorian looks out around the city, taking in the sights. He feels water hit his face.

He looks over at Cassidy, who has a shit-eating grin on his face, hand still trailing in the water.

“Just making sure you don’t get too lost in your thoughts.”

Dorian scrunches his nose momentarily. “Someone has to do the thinking for this group.”

Cassidy laughs, and the sound fills Dorian with a light feeling that he can’t quite name.

“Regardless, I was just looking at the city. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.”

“It is pretty unique,” Cassidy agrees.

The conversation lulls again, and Dorian again tries to think of something to talk about. He opens his mouth, not quite sure of what he’s going to say. What comes out is, 

“Have you ever been to Osten?”

Cassidy looks over to him and blinks. “The town? Yeah, once or twice, just to pass through. It’s not really a destination.”

Dorian grins. “You know the octopus statue in the middle of the loch?”

Cassidy nods.

“It’s alive.”

Cassidy’s eyebrows raise in disbelief. “... Really?”

“His name is Ket’Ateph. We’re friends. I send him postcards.”

Cassidy nods slightly, as if he doesn’t quite believe Dorian. “Postcards, huh? Speaking of, thanks for the postcard from Angor’Thom.”

“Oh. You’re welcome. It reminded me of you.”

“It... did? It was a statue.”

_What do I say? Make something up, play it cool._

“Yes, well, the statue had impressive muscles and so do you.”

 _Shit_.

Cassidy’s smile is blinding. “Oh I didn’t know you noticed.”

Dorian coughs uncomfortably and looks away, fidgeting with one of his rings.

 _Man up, Pappas. Now or never._ He took a deep breath. 

“Cassidy, I um, I asked you if you wanted to go for a gondola ride because I wanted to ask you, uh, on a date, and I’m a bit of a coward when it comes to things like that, and um I just. Needed to tell you that. I suppose.”

Dorian is pointedly Not Looking at Cassidy, so he misses how the paladin initially reacts, but he looks up when Cassidy speaks.

“So... is this a date?”

Dorian flushes. “I mean, if you want it to be? I mean, I would like it to be, but only if you want that too.”

Cassidy leans back slightly. “Dorian, uh, there’s something I need to tell you.”

 _Shit_.

Dorian’s heart falls in his chest. “You’re straight.”

“I’m straight...”

Dorian nods and looks away, entirely unsure of what to do, but definitely contemplating jumping out of the boat.

“... just kidding.”

Then Cassidy slides his right hand under Dorian’s ear, curling his fingers around his skull, and pulls him in for a kiss. Dorian freezes for a heartbeat, then kisses back.

After a moment he pulls back. “Wait! Wait, what?”

Cassidy pulls back as well, hands up defensively. “Oh, I’m sorry, was the kiss not cool?”

“Oh no, that was really cool... can we do it again?”

Cassidy’s grin is back. “Yeah, you gonna freak out again?”

“Probably.”

He chuckles slightly, says, “I’ll take it,” and leans in, and kisses Dorian again.

A gentle bump alerts them to the fact that the gondola has arrived back at the docks. Cassidy tips the gondolier, an elf who is pointedly not looking at the two humans in their boat, and then climbs out onto the platform. He reaches to help Dorian out of the gondola, and keeps holding his hand as they wander through the city.

“You know. I thought you hated me.”

Dorian stops walking, incredulous. “Cassidy. I ran into a wall the first time I met you.”

“Yeah well, I thought you were trying to get away from me or something.”

Dorian’s mouth runs away before his brain can catch up. “Oh no, I was distracted by how pretty you are.”

 _Shit_.

His brain does catch up a few seconds later, and he flushes.

Cassidy is smiling down at him. “Oh really?”

Dorian gestures evasively and starts walking again. “Yes well, the sun was shining in your hair and it was like spun gold and very... nice. It was very nice.”

He can feel Cassidy chuckling next to him.

“That was very poetic.”

“I don’t write poetry.”

“Well there go half my romantic plans.”

Dorian glances over to him. “Do you write poetry then?”

Cassidy laughs. “No, no I do not.”

“I suppose you can always bribe Kis to help you.”

That causes the paladin to stop abruptly. Dorian looks back at him quizzically.

“Do uh, so, how do you want to do this? Does Kis know?”

Dorian snorted. “She’s been teasing me about my crush on you for months now, and I’m pretty sure Elijah has figured it out by now as well.”

“So, you’re cool with them knowing?”

“Yes. What about you? I mean, you have your rank to worry about, and I wouldn’t want to affect anything in your life like that.”

“No it’ll be fine, I just need to tell my mother.”

Dorian looks away for a moment, then back at the man in front of him. “Cassidy, I’m not exactly on good terms with my parents right now.”

“I gathered as much. Mind if I ask why?”

Dorian struggles to answer, debating just how much to reveal.

Cassidy holds up a hand. “Don’t worry about it. We can talk about it later.”

They resume walking, and Dorian squeezes Cassidy’s hand in gratitude. The paladin squeezes back and pulls him along the various pathways leading back to the palace, pointing out various landmarks and telling Dorian stories of when he was last here with King Acer.

Finally, they end up in front of the room where Dorian was staying in the palace. Cassidy steps into Dorian’s personal space and rests their foreheads together. 

“I told you I’d have you back before late.”

Dorian looks into his eyes. “I had a good time tonight.”

“Me too.”

Dorian presses up on his toes slightly to kiss Cassidy goodnight, then takes a step back. He watches as Cassidy’s eyes flutter open, and a small smile blooms on the paladin's face.

And then, Cassidy ruins the moment by flicking Dorian’s nose.

A sigh of exasperation escapes the wizard. “Good night, Cassidy.”

“Good night, Dorian. Sleep well.”

With that, Dorian steps into his room and shuts the door behind him. He hears a knock next door, and then the muffled voices of Kis and Cassidy speaking. Now that he has a moment to breathe, his thoughts spiral out of control.

 _'Evil magic.' What am I going to do?! He’s going to find out and_ -

There’s a knock on his door now. It cuts through the panic, and he goes to open it and finds Kis standing outside for the second time tonight.

He steps aside to let her in, but this time she doesn’t sit on the bed. Rather, she waits for him to close the door and remains standing in the middle of the room.

“You had better take care of him too.”

Dorian blinks. “I’m certainly not intending on hurting him.”

She fixes him with a pointed glance. “You don’t intend to, but you wield a power some would consider dangerous. Magic that he doesn’t approve of.”

Panic wells up in Dorian’s chest, and he toys with the idea of bluffing. He settles with a quiet, “How did you know?”

“I am quite observant.”

Dorian narrows his eyes. “Our cleric of Light hasn’t figured it out.”

“Perhaps I know what to look for.”

Dorian looks away. “I don’t want what it offers. Please don’t tell anyone, especially not him.”

“I won’t. I’m not asking you to deny who you are, but you’ve made a commitment now, so make your choices wisely.”

And with that, she turns and leaves.

Dorian gets ready for bed, thinking on his conversation with Kis. He resolves to put the matter from his mind for now. It was a problem for another time. He falls asleep remembering the feel of Cassidy’s lips on his and the way their hands slotted together perfectly.

* * *

The next morning, he wakes to Kaide banging on his door, asking if he wants breakfast. She moves off down the hall, banging on the other doors, not content with waiting for him to get ready.

Twenty minutes later, he walks into the castle dining hall and spies Cassidy, Kis, and Kaide sitting at a table together. After filling his plate, he walks over and drops a kiss to Cassidy’s head as he sits down next to him.

Kis groans and grabs the flagon of wine from the centre of the table, taking a huge gulp of it.

Kaide looks confused, but leans over to Kis and deposits a kiss to the top of her head. She repeats the action for both Cassidy and Dorian. 

“Ah, that’s not necessary Kaide, but thank you,” Cassidy says.

The group discusses their plans for the day. Kaide had met a satyr the night before while exploring the city, and wants to go see her new friend at his bookshop. Dorian readily agrees with the bookshop plan, and Cassidy shoots him a fond smile.

“Besides, I need to get a postcard.”

Cassidy places his hand over Dorian’s and Kis groans again.

“A postcard for your octopus friend?”

Dorian raises an eyebrow. “Yes, it’s for Ket’Ateph. Although... I wonder if he’s even been getting them since Sorrice hasn’t been there.”

A somber mood falls over the group as they think of the dragonborn wizard who was the entire reason they were here in Delar Shan’Thalas.

Dorian stands after a moment. “I’m going to take some food up to Elijah. I’ll meet you in the hallway to go to the bookshop.”

He turns to leave and is almost halfway across the room when he hears Cassidy call after him, “Oh, so no goodbye kiss?”

He rolls his eyes, but turns around to blow the paladin a kiss nonetheless.

When he reaches Elijah’s room, he knocks once and waits. When no one answers the door, he knocks again.

“Elijah? It’s Dorian. I brought you some food. We’re going to the bookshop and the market if you’d like to come along.”

A few seconds pass and the door opens. Dorian gives him a once-over and sees the signs of distress that Elijah had tried to cover up.

“Are you alright?”

The half-elf takes the plate of food from Dorian and tries to shut the door, but Dorian isn’t giving up that easily.

Elijah huffs an annoyed breath. “I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine. If you need a distraction, come shopping with us.”

Elijah remains silent.

“Alternatively, if you need some space, I can make sure the others don’t bother you?”

“Thank you Dorian.” 

Dorian moves back so Elijah can shut the door, but pauses momentarily. “You know we’re here for you right? I know what it’s like, being back in a place that should feel like home, but all it does is bring up painful memories.”

The cleric winces. “I appreciate it Dorian, but I’d like to be alone for a little while.

Dorian nods and makes his way back to the main hall. He’ll check in on Elijah again before their audience with King Galen. He meets the rest of the group near the entrance of the castle and takes Cassidy’s hand as they make their way through the streets.

From behind, Dorian can hear Kaide say, “Oh. I think I missed something,” and when he glances back, she’s looking between him and Cassidy at their joined hands. He grins at her and faces forward, revelling in the sun on his face and the feeling of Cassidy walking by his side.

They arrive at a nondescript bookshop, and once inside, Kaide makes her way over to the red satyr behind the counter.

“Marjhikam! I have a ribbon for you!”

The satyr seems shocked to see her, but he accepts the yellow ribbon and ties it around one of his horns. 

The two chat for a few minutes, but Dorian’s focus is on the selection of postcards available. He picks out an aerial view of the city for Ket’Ateph, and another of the canals when he’s sure Cassidy isn’t looking. He finds a book on the gods called _Whispered in the Wind_ and also selects a random book in Elvish for Kaspar.

Marjhikam sends the one postcard to Ket’Ateph for Dorian, but when the satyr asks about the other one, Dorian shakes his head and slips it in between the pages of his book. Dorian has plans for that postcard at a future unspecified date.

After finishing at the bookshop, they make their way to the Blooming Boughs Market, where Elijah joins them.

Dorian finds a beautiful yellow flower at a vendor’s stall and sticks it behind Cassidy’s ear.

“Mhmm, it suits you, λιακάδα.”

Cassidy touches the flower for a moment. “What does that mean, that word you said? What language was that?”

Dorian blinks, unaware that the old language had slipped from his tongue.

“It’s an old language from Portcost, and, ah, the word is a term of great respect.”

Cassidy looks as if he doesn’t quite believe Dorian and opens his mouth to press the issue, but he notices that the sun is approaching its midpoint in the sky.

“We need to get back to the castle to get the Edrasil from the king.”

Relieved, Dorian nods, and the group heads back to the castle. Cassidy is holding his hand, and every so often, Dorian will sneak a peak in his peripheral vision to see the flower still tucked behind Cassidy’s ear.

A warm feeling fills his chest. 

His Sunshine. 

**Author's Note:**

> λιακάδα = sun/sunshine
> 
> If you want more info on Karamore, go check out our campaign Tumblr:  
> karamore-aesthetic.tumblr.com


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